Judd Trump under the microscope as the World Championship at the Crucible beckons
Following another narrow loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan, Richard Mann looks at Judd Trump and his quest to become the next snooker superstar.
Genius. Entertainer. Winner. Underachiever.
Judd Trump is one the most exciting players the game of snooker has ever produced, a potting machine who makes big breaks for fun and can win frames in the blink of an eye.
Trump is firmly established as the heir to Ronnie O’Sullivan’s throne, but now approaching 29 years of age, is he in danger of becoming one of the sports underachievers?
I say this not because I am not a Trump fan, I am, and a big one and that.
But despite his impressive achievements to date – Trump has won seven ranking titles in his career as well numerous invitational events – I can’t shake the feeling that he should be so much more.
His recent semi-final defeat to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the Players Championship was another case of close but no cigar, Trump dominating from the outset but failing to put the match to bed when presented with a couple of guilt-edged opportunities with the finishing line in sight.
Breaks of 74 and 49 had allowed him to claim the first two frames of that match and though O’Sullivan fought back, flawless breaks of 109 and 123 saw Trump lead 5-4, only for the Rocket to hold his nerve best and progress to the final.
👌👌 @judd147t judged that cannon to absolute perfection!#LadbrokesSnooker pic.twitter.com/lQ94BKICdm
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker1) March 23, 2018
Falling short in close matches that he has dominated is becoming an alarming trend for Trump, who lost 6-5 to Mark Allen in the quarter-finals of the International Championship earlier in the season before being edged out by Kyren Wilson in a final-frame decider of their Masters semi-final clash in January.
Trump is already out of the China Open having been beaten 6-5 by Jak Jones recently before enduring further heartbreak again against O’Sullivan last week.
To watch Trump at work, knocking in long pots from virtually anywhere on the table and assembling frame-winning breaks in a flash, it is hard to comprehend the left-hander every meeting with defeat.
Sure, the game isn’t that simple, but Trump is a unique talent, a master of his craft in and around the black spot and arguably the finest single-ball potter to ever grace the green baize.
He ought to be dominating the game now, not looking up at a 42-year-old O’Sullivan and wondering how he can bridge the gap with his idol.
His safety game has made noticeable improvements but he is still found wanting in that department against the very best and it was clear to see the difference when Trump and O’Sullivan traded blows in that department in Llandudno, O’Sullivan continually landing on the top cushion while Trump often struggled to get his returns past the balk line.
Nevertheless, despite this, Trump made most of the running in that match and more worrying for him will be his inability to finish off his opponents.
There is no doubt that he is a fearless player, aggressive in the same mould as the great Stephen Hendry and O’Sullivan, but he needs found the same killer instinct.
While Trump looked jittery when the winning line was in sight in Wales, there was a sense of inevitability when O’Sullivan came to the table in the decider and his match-winning run of 67 was coolness personified, Trump looking on with his face painting a picture mixed of envy and enthusiasm.
After the game, Trump spoke of his disappointment at losing another close match and appeared to be in disbelief at letting another big chance slip.
He can see the truth staring him directly in the face and he needs to find its remedy before his career falls short of its obvious potential.
From the moment Trump turned professional in 2005, he was big news and the inevitable ‘future World Champion’ tag was placed upon his shoulders.
By and large, he has coped well with such pressures but the Crucible crown still evades him – he was runner-up to John Higgins in 2011 – and that is a title he is understandably keen to add to CV.
Jimmy White, another left-handed showman, was sadly never crowned World Champion and famously lost in six Crucible finals. For the good of the game, the supremely-gifted Trump cannot suffer a similar fate.
O’Sullivan won’t go on forever and when the lights finally go out on his incredible career, snooker will need a new people's champion.
That champion must be Trump but for now, he has some work do. He must find the missing pieces to the puzzle, the puzzle of Judd Trump.
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